Form & Function Orthopaedics

Nobody tells you the real test of confidence in this job is strutting out in paper shorts like you own the place. They are not fashionable. They have never been fashionable. But they work, and honestly they’ve seen me through a lot of exams that mattered more than they looked.

If you’ve ever felt a little silly walking into an appointment, you’re in good company. We see you, paper shorts and all. Follow for more of what actually happens behind the exam room door.

These mailers have been out around the clinic since the day we opened Form & Function Orthopaedics. I picked one up the other day and read it slow for the first time in a while.

It still says exactly what I’d say today. “Where surgical precision meets fierce empathy.” That was true on day one and it’s just as true now, even as the practice has grown into so much more than it was back then.

If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been around a while, thank you for growing with us. Follow along for more of what building this actually looks like.

One year ago I opened the doors to Form & Function Orthopaedics. I still remember standing in that empty space before it had furniture, before it had patients, before it had a name that meant anything to anyone but me.

A year later I am overwhelmed. Not by the growth, though that has been real. By the people who made it possible.

To my team, thank you for believing in a vision before it was proven. You show up every day for patients who need more than a quick fix, and that takes heart.

To my friends and family, thank you for the late nights, the pep talks, and for never once telling me to play it safe.

To my mentors, thank you for teaching me that being a good surgeon and being a good human are not two different jobs.

To my colleagues across this field, thank you for the collaboration and the mutual respect. Preservation minded care works better when we work together.

And to my patients, thank you for trusting me with your joints, your stories, and your time. You are the reason this exists.

Here is to year one. Year two is going to be even better.

Want to be part of what is next? Take the JointSpan quiz and see where your joint health stands today, link in bio. Follow for more

Everyone brought anything but a cup to prank Isaac on his last day 😂 PA Isaac helped me open the doors to this clinic and welcome our very first patients. We are going to miss this guy so much at F2 Ortho. Wishing you and your whole family an incredible adventure back home in Ghana. You’ll always be part of this team. 🧡

Frozen shoulder is not your shoulder being stuck. It is your joint capsule shrinking.

Your shoulder capsule is a flexible envelope of connective tissue with built-in slack that lets your arm move in every direction. In frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis), that capsule becomes inflamed, then thickens and contracts around the joint. Less envelope, less motion.

That is why it moves through stages:

Freezing: inflammation, pain, motion starting to shrink
Frozen: less pain, but the capsule is tight and motion is limited
Thawing: the capsule gradually loosens, often over 1 to 3 years

And that capsule tissue has estrogen receptors, which is one reason frozen shoulder shows up so often in women in their 40s and 50s. This is connective tissue biology, not weakness, and it is treatable at every stage.

If your shoulder is losing motion and you want answers instead of a wait-and-see shrug, we evaluate and treat frozen shoulder at Form & Function Orthopaedics. Learn more at f2ortho.com.

Frozen shoulder is treatable at every single stage. Here is my honest playbook as a shoulder surgeon.

1. Steroid injection. I am careful with steroids in most joints, but frozen shoulder is the one condition where I am more liberal, because given early in the inflammatory phase, a steroid injection can genuinely change the course of the disease.

Sometimes it is close to curative. Why not repeat it endlessly? Because repeated corticosteroid exposure can weaken tendon and soft tissue over time, and blunt the healing response. It is a powerful tool I use deliberately, not a subscription.

2. PRP. A 2026 meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials (over 1,000 patients) found steroid and PRP performed similarly in the first month, but by 3 and 6 months PRP delivered better pain relief, better function, and better range of motion. Steroid is the sprinter, PRP is the marathoner. We offer PRP at Form & Function Orthopaedics.

3. PT and a home program. Not either or. Physical therapy gives you skilled, progressive capsular stretching and keeps you honest. Your daily home program is where the actual motion gains live, because the capsule responds to frequent gentle stretch, not one heroic session a week.

4. Hormone therapy if you are menopausal. In Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein's () survey of nearly 11,000 women, those not on HRT were 8x more likely to develop frozen shoulder, and 57% of women who started HT after diagnosis reported their symptoms improved.

Association, not yet proof, but worth a conversation with your doctor.

5. And if all of that fails? Options like hydrodilatation or arthroscopic capsular release exist. But in my world, surgery is the last resort, not the default. Not yet, not never.

Come see us at Form & Function Orthopaedics, f2ortho.com, where we build a plan for your shoulder, not a one-size-fits-all protocol.

I already have frozen shoulder. Is it too late?" I hear this question constantly, and new research is starting to answer it.

In the same survey of nearly 11,000 menopausal women from Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein (), 445 women were diagnosed with frozen shoulder and then started hormone therapy before their symptoms resolved. Among them, 57% reported their symptoms improved after starting HT.

Important context: this is self-reported improvement from a cross-sectional survey, not a controlled trial. Frozen shoulder also improves on its own over time, so we need prospective studies to sort out how much of this is the HT. But it is a meaningful signal that the estrogen and joint connection may matter even after symptoms begin.

The takeaway is not that HT treats frozen shoulder. The takeaway is that your shoulder symptoms in midlife deserve a conversation that includes your hormones, not one that ignores them.

Follow for more on where menopause and joint health meet.

Longevity goals: carry my own big bag of rice at 85. And yes, the big bag is the better deal.

As an orthopaedic surgeon, I spend my days looking at what happens to bones and joints over decades, and I will tell you what the research has made undeniable. The people who hold onto their strength hold onto their independence. So a loaded carry is not just a gym move to me. It is preventive medicine.

Here is what is actually happening when I carry this on one side. My bones respond to load by getting denser, because bone is living tissue that builds itself in response to the demand you place on it. Take the demand away and it quietly gives strength back, which is how so many people arrive at a fracture they never saw coming. My deep core, the muscles that wrap the spine like a built in weight belt, has to fire hard to keep me upright. That is spinal protection. And core is not crunches. A six pack is cosmetic. The core I care about is the system that stabilizes your spine, guards your low back, and lets you move without pain.

But this is where it goes beyond bones and joints for me. Strong muscle is not just for movement, it is metabolically active tissue that helps regulate blood sugar and supports the whole body as you age. When I help you protect your musculoskeletal system, I am helping protect systems well beyond the one you can see. That is the part people miss. Your bones and joints are not a separate department from the rest of your health. They are the frame the entire body depends on.

This is what JointSpan means to me. Not waiting for pain, not waiting for a scan to show the damage is already done, but loading and protecting the body now so you keep your strength, your independence, and your quality of life for as many years as possible. Preservation over replacement. This is the surgeon telling you the best outcome is often the operation you never needed.

Curious where your joints and strength actually stand? Take the JointSpan assessment and get your personalized plan at f2ortho.com/jointspan-md/

My colleague Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein () presented a survey of nearly 11,000 menopausal women. Women not on hormone therapy were 8x more likely to develop frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) than women on HT. And women with severe hot flashes and night sweats had significantly worse upper extremity function overall.

This was a cross-sectional survey, so it shows association, not proof of prevention. But it adds to a growing body of evidence that estrogen matters to your joints, tendons, and connective tissue.

If you are in perimenopause or menopause and your shoulder is getting stiff and painful, that is not something to wait out. It is something to evaluate.

Want to know where your joints stand? Take the free JointSpan assessment at f2ortho.com/jointspan-md/ and get your personalized action plan.